Cool Your Grits, srsly

I’ve been writing here on Coolyourgrits for a while now. Some posts are longer than others; some posts are better than others. But just what does “Cool Your Grits” really mean and who is this person constantly ranting away?

In a way, it’s my way of saying “Calm the fuck down, people”! It’s great that people are passionate enough to feel the need to defend what they love, but sometimes people just need to calm down.

The thing is, games are magical to me. They’re what I turned to so I wouldn’t have to deal with my otherwise boring life, and I have no intention of using them to fuel more negativity — something that is already running in surplus — into my daily life.

And that’s why I don’t waste my energy tweeting about how the Nintendo 3DS is a “waste of space” or how Battlefield 3 is sooooo much better than Modern Warfare 3. My jaw is on the floor every time there’s a new Uncharted trailer just like any other gamer, but I also know when to stop and smell the planted roses in Animal Crossing. As I get frustrated by Seth’s cheapness in Super Street Fighter IV, I remember how I can wind down with games like Flower and Kirby’s Epic Yarn (ideally the Snow Land stage).

There’s no divide for me. I’m a passionate gamer because I love all videogames. I’m idealistic enough to believe that different genres of games have different purposes cater to different people. I don’t hate Penguin Press for publishing kids books just because I’m a non-fiction nut, so why should I treat games any differently?

So cool your grits, folks. Take a notch down from your fanboyisms and tear down your Berlin Walls of hyper-criticisms. Learn to be a kid again, the way you could make out an entire world from a few unflattering pixels. Instead of complaining how games companies are never doing enough to please your majesty, take the time to try out a different style or genre of games. You might end up a better, happier gamer because of it.